ON THE SMALL BIRDS OF FLIGHT. 
bird-catchers,’on' °a’ spot which otherwise it 
would not have taken the least notice of. Nay, 
it frequently happens, that if -half’a flock only 
‘are caught, the remaining half will mmediately 
afterwards light in the-nets,:and share the same 
fate ; and should only one bird escape, that bird 
‘will suffer itself to be pulled at till itis caught, 
‘such a fascinating power have the call-birds. 
-) While we are on this subject of the jerking 
‘of birds, we cannot omit mentioning, that the 
bird-catchers frequently lay considerable wagers 
-whose call-bird-can jerk the longest, as that de- 
termines the superiority. They place them op- 
posite to each other, by an inch of candle, and 
the bird who jerks the oftenest, before the can- 
dle is burnt out, wins the wager. We have 
been informed, that there have been mstances 
of a bird’s giving a hundred and seventy jerks 
in a quarter of an hour; and we have known.a 
linnet, in such a trial, persevere in its emula- 
tion till it swooned from the perch: thus, as 
Pliny says of the nightingale, vzcta morte finit 
sepe vitam, spiritu prius deficiente qudm cantu.* 
It may be here observed, that birds when 
near each other, and in sight, seldom yerk or 
sing. They either fight, or use short and wheed- 
* Lib. x. c. 29. 
VO Le IDG NG 
L321 
